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I WOULD like to start the New Year with a serious message for Datuk Lee Chong Wei, Malaysian badminton superstar.

I hope he will not give up his quest to win the men's badminton singles gold medal in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Indeed, only capturing the gold medal would put a satisfactory and fruitful end to the athlete's distinguished career as a professional player.
A gold medal would be no present, no surprise and no accident, but rather a well-deserved reward for a man who has beaten incredible odds and suffered enormous hardship in the name of badminton -- for himself, for his family and for his country.
Thus, I hope Lee will not deviate from this objective.
Of course, in any victory, the coach or the teacher is important. And I think this champion has had his fair share of mediocre teachers and old-fashioned teachers.
It was sad to read how his father told him that he would break the young lad's legs if he played basketball again. Why? Because there was no future for basketball in Malaysia.
Again, I was almost heartbroken reading about how his coach at the time put him off the court for a week, collecting shuttlecocks dropped by other players, because he had broken a racket in anger after losing a game.
Although Lee pleaded with the coach to be forgiven, this was a coach from the old school who enforced a strict punishment law with no possibility of recourse.
Good for Lee, he persevered but only to be punished again for asking to be given some rest after an injury.
Lee believed that with a bit of rest he could recover, but his coach was inflexible and dropped him from the All England Open Badminton Championship in February 2003.
Lee was devastated by so harsh a punishment, but he persevered like a true Malaysian.
Lee and his coach should read more books and newspapers and watch more television.
That is the problem with athletes -- they simply do not pay attention in school, thinking that the sport will support them.
One common excuse: they are too tired to study after practice that they cannot pay attention in class or do homework, and so they don't do well in examinations.
It is in books, newspapers and in television news reports that you meet some outstanding people from your line of work who can really teach you worthwhile strategies.
People, for example, like Mark Spitz, the 1972 Olympic gold medalist for swimming.
After wining six gold medals in six events, Spitz did not want to take part in the seventh and last event, which was also the most gruelling -- the 100-metre freestyle.
There were two reasons for this. Firstly, he was tired and secondly, he was afraid of losing.
In swimming, the true winner is he who wins the 100-metre freestyle event.
But his coach convinced him, and he swam the race. Spitz won by half a stroke, but he still won.
By his own admission, he was so tired at the end of the race that he could not have lifted his arm one more time.
Lee is perfect proof that the mental factor remains crucial in victory, and is now perhaps even more important than before in determining an athlete's performance.
Lee must find the right coach to build confidence in himself.
He himself admitted to learning that "life is ultimately about fulfilling basic needs". How true! I couldn't agree more. Datuk Lee Chong Wei is perfect proof that mental factor remains crucial in determining an athlete’s performance,

I'm really looking forward to a possible MS finals featuring LCW and Sony, at the Korean Open this week. Provided of course, that the Thailand Open version of SDK turns up... Now that'll be a match to savour!

It doesn't mean a Great Master will produce disciples who are all equally great. A Great Master can only bring out the best in each of them. Don't forget, it was Li Mao and Misbun who played their part to make Lee CW what he is today after he was first spotted by Morten Frost; otherwise Lee CW might still be living a life of obscurity today, his natural talent hidden and wasted.